A Morte por COVID-19 no Brasil: do espaço público à experiência íntima dos profissionais envolvidos na sua gestão

Abstract

This study aims to comprehend death caused by Covid-19 through different angles: being it a public event, performed through statistical data and images, as well as an intimate experience for those who worked with its management, in Teutônia, a small city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. This is a qualitative research, based on the ethnographic method. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with the interlocutors, aiming to analyze how the pandemic changed their jobs, what it was like to work with the risk of contamination and how these professionals dealt with the death of others. In addition, through a series of reports, statistical figures and images, we make an overview of the Covid-19 pandemic, from the global to the most local level. The intense dissemination of numbers and images from all over the world, placed us as spectators of this event. By comparing the disclosure of global and local data, we realized that death can be performed differently in each of them. Also, part of this data was used by Brazilian and international media to criticize Brazil's government. As for the workers, it was possible to perceive that their experiences were marked by the exceptional character that the Covid-19 pandemic brought, both for the performance of their work, and in how they perceive the death of the other. These professionals had their work routines changed due to established protocols and created avoidance systems as a way to reduce the chance of contamination.